In A Different World
by storytellers
Summary: A bit weird. A Rampage Christmas fic of all things. The lyrics inside belong to me so please don't copy or I'll have to sue you. There are thousands of different realities. We can sometimes touch them in our dreams.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beast Wars but the song "Happy Christmas to All" belongs entirely to me. I write a Christmas song every year and this one is last year's. So please don't use it without permission.

**In A Different World**

_Dedicated to the creators and members of Beast Wars International with wishes for a wonderful holiday season!_

_November 2005_

The cold wind blew snowflakes in their faces as they stepped out of the pub.

"Oh, look, it's snowing! It's the first snow! Isn't it wonderful? We'll have snow for the holidays!"

His friend's daughter let go of her parents' hands and ran down the street humming and dancing, white crystals swirling around her. He, his fiancée, his friend and his friend's wife laughed as they watched the small femme spin around a street light. They slowly started after her, the two femmes holding on to the males' hands, heads resting on their shoulders. The snow was falling around them silently, covering the small alleyway. From the main street nearby came the sounds of many mechs and organics hurrying for home or perhaps buying presents. It was mainly a human-inhabited planet and the other creatures that lived here had gladly adopted most of the human holidays. Fun was fun and it was something everyone needed. Who cared what exactly they were celebrating?

He felt relaxed like he had never felt in his life. Like there was nothing to worry about in this beautiful snowy evening.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" his friend said quietly. "I never thought I'd have a moment's peace in my life ever again and look at us now. "

And there was a calm, contented smile on his face, an expression that had been completely forgotten for a time.

_Happy Christmas to my fearless warriors!  
Leave your swords in the corner and rest.  
Comrades and rivals alike, meet for a drink and a jest.  
Tomorrow will bring you the new year's quest. _

"Yeah." He sighed contentedly. "And I never imagined I could have a life such as this. A real life."

He felt… He felt everything.

He felt the fresh night air and each soft snowflake melting on his metallic body. And he remembered a time when all he ever felt was pain. He saw the light from the street lamps turn the sparkling snow to silver and gold. And he remembered a time when all he could see was sterile white walls. He heard his friend's deep pleasant laughter. And he remembered a time when all he could hear were screams, often his own. His lover pulled him into a soft kiss. And he remembered a time when all he could feel was hatred.

And he was incredibly thankful to Primus or whatever god had granted him everything he had now.

_Happy Christmas to my cruel villains!  
May forgiveness bless all of your hearts.  
May the pain, which has made you like this  
Disappear as the old year departs.  
May a new chance await you when the new year starts._

"In a night such as this, don't you feel like you're one with the whole world?" his friend's wife whispered. "Like all things are connected and everything is important, everything's there for a reason. Every second, every snowflake, every person, everything that happens… Everything is right with the world."

They all nodded dreamily. It was true and they all felt it in their sparks. Everything was right with the world. Finally.

_Happy Christmas to the rich and the poor,  
Happy Christmas to the great and the small,  
Happy Christmas to the good and the bad!  
I'm your world and I care for you all!  
Happy Christmas to the rich and the poor,  
Happy Christmas to the great and the small,  
Happy Christmas to all of my children!  
I'm your world and I care for you all!  
_

"You know what?" his fiancée said suddenly. "I don't see why only children should be allowed to play in the snow."

"Hmm, I think you have a point." His friend's wife nodded with a mischievous smile and without warning both femmes pushed their respective bots in the snow and quickly ran out of reach, giggling. He and his friend got to their feet, exchanged a look and rushed after the ladies, scooping huge snowballs in their large hands on their way, that, of course, they ended up throwing at each other.

He could distinctly hear his friend's daughter roar with laughter at the four adults rolling around happily like small puppies.

They all ended up on the ground eventually, heand his friend lying side by side, laughing so hard that they were gasping for breath and the femmes on top of them, demanding that they admit their defeat. It all resulted in both couples kissing passionately.

_Happy Christmas to my passionate lovers,  
always quarreling Venus and Mars.  
When your life brings you down to your knees  
let your love take you back to the stars.  
May it grow through the years healing all of the scars.  
_

When they finally got into the apartment they were freezing and soaking wet, which did nothing to decrease the cheerful mood that seemed to fill the place as they walked in.

The living room was warm and cozy, lit only by Christmas lights and a few holiday candles in various shapes, selected and arranged especially by his friend's daughter. The two bots sat there, getting warm, sipping their drinks and listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen next door.

"No, Mom! Let _me_ do it!"

"Do you know _how_ to do it?"

"I'll find out when I try!"

"Let her do it, honey. They'll eat anything she cooks!"

The bots in the living room grinned at that comment. It was completely true, too. She was one little person they would both do anything for.

_Happy Christmas to my innocent children!  
May there be no pain in your lives.  
Keep on laughing and loving and dreaming,  
making sure the future survives.  
May you have a new dream as each year arrives._

He felt a pang of sadness as the voices from the kitchen started to fade and the room blurred before his optics. Rampage awoke. He stared at the ceiling for several seconds before registering Megatron's voice in his comm. link. The Predacon leader demanded that he reported to the command center immediately and emphasized his words by putting moderate pressure on his spark box. The crab grunted in pain and anger and started to get up, still trying to recall his dream. The images were all gone but the ghostly feeling of peace and happiness… love… lingered a little longer before quickly melting into emptiness and despair when the real world settled around him. He was a psychopath, a cold-blooded killer, an experiment with no feelings. A bot like him was never meant to know anything remotely resembling love. Knowing it and never being able to experience it for real made his kind of life even more painful and unbearable. So it was best to cast it away, forget it forever. And yet he treasured what remained of the dream. Because somewhere deep, a small part of him betrayed him. A small part of him longed to feel something in other bots other than the anger, fear and hatred he fed on. The first snow for the year fell that night. And Rampage was out there, trying to feel the snowflakes melting on his metallic body, openly wishing for the first time in his life that he lived in a different world. Maybe tonight, if he dreamed again…

_I'm your world and I care for you all!  
You just can't make me perfect, try as you might.  
Tomorrow once again the darkness will fall,  
but for now let there be light!_


End file.
